The Brookings Institution Highlights Plight of Veterans During Opioid Crisis (Part 1)
By virtue of their service to the United States, the plight of veterans suffering from opioid use disorder needs to be a priority.In “The Opioid Crisis in America: Domestic and International Dimensions,” a paper series from the Foreign Policy and Global Economy & Development programs at The Brooking Institution, John Hudak, deputy director at Brookings of the Center for Effective Public Management, addresses this issue.
As a SUD recovery organization with a focus on helping under-serviced populations, Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc. (TTC) values the efforts of The Brookings Institution to address the opioid crisis.
Published on July 22, 2020, Hudak’s extensive study, “Assessing and improving the government’s response to the veterans’ opioid crisis,”concludes that the federal government has a direct responsibility to enact healthcare programs specifically designed to help addicted veterans.After all, veterans report much higher rates of severe pain and chronic pain than the general population for a good reason. During their combat service, many veterans were injured with wounds that led to an ongoing need for effective pain management. Moreover, the mental anguish of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)leads many veterans to self-medicate with opioids.
United States Veterans and the Challenge of Opioid Crisis
When you look at the statistics relating to veterans and opioid use disorder, the numbers are staggering. Moreover, those numbers relate back to chronic pain. Testifying before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in 2015, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, the Department of Veterans Affairs Interim Undersecretary for Health details the challenge:
“While about30 percent of the Nation’s adult population experiences chronic pain, the problem of chronicpain in VA is even more daunting, with almost 60 percent of returning Veterans from the Middle East and more than 50 percent of older Veterans in the VA health care system living with some form of chronic pain.”
Moreover, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) combines with chronic pain. Hence, such a combination makes the problem so much worse. According to VA’s National Center for PTSD, 11 percent to 20 percent of veterans serving in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from PTSD. Moreover, research shows that OUD is higher among chronic pain patients who have PTSD. Thus, veterans are caught between a rock and a hard place.
Veterans and the National Opioid Crisis
The resulting statistics about veterans and OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) are hard to comprehend. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), in 2018, 505,000 veterans reported prescription painkiller misuse and 59,000 veterans reported heroin use. Incredibly, well over half a million veterans are the ones reporting the problem. Imagine how many more veterans suffering from OUD are hiding their misuse as addicts are more likely to do. After all, coming forward and addiction do not tend to go together.
The increase in OUD among veterans also leads to massive health consequences. In 2019, VA (Veterans Affairs) Secretary Robert Wilkie reveals that “veterans are twice as likely to die from accidental overdose compared to the general U.S. Population.” Although this statement includes accidental overdoses from other substances as well, OUD is the driving force.
Finally, veterans do not want to ask for help. Given their military backgrounds, there is an aversion to revealing weaknesses. First, there is a societal stigma when it comes to addiction. Thus, the shame felt by veterans caught in the opioid crisis is overwhelming. Paradoxically, such shame leads to a greater desire to use and escape from reality. It is a devastating Catch-22.
Vulnerability of Veterans to Opioid Crisis
Moving forward, reducing the toll on veterans of OUD must be a priority. As John Hudak states with conviction, “The vulnerability of the veteran community to OUD is unquestionable, and the magnitude of the problem gripping those who served is severe.” Given the extent of the problem, TTC agrees that it needs to be a national priority. In the second part of this two-part article, the proactive solutions offered by John Hudak in his Brookings study will be examined.